Exists (2014)

“A group of friends who venture into the remote Texas woods for a party weekend find themselves stalked by Bigfoot.” — IMDb

This is, in many ways, your classic “found footage” movie — perhaps not surprising since it is directed by Eduardo Sánchez, who brought us The Blair Witch Project. A group of friends aim to spend some time together in the woods, staying in an uncle’s old, dilapidated cabin when they aren’t riding bikes or taking a dip in the lake. Almost immediately — before they even reach the house — things start to seem a bit awry. They hit some kind of animal with the car — it runs off before they have a chance to even see it — and then hear this mournful cry from the not-so-distance, but, true to the rules of horror movie cliché, they push onward, insisting on arriving at the creepy house in the shroud of darkness.

The characters are nothing to write home about — truly forgettable, really, as they all fit into their predictable and stereotypical roles. Brian (played by Chris Osborn) is the amateur filmmaker of the group, always seen with camera in hand. While this might not be the most groundbreaking route to go, it does its part to help explain the main gripe that people usually have with found footage style movies — “why the hell are they still filming and not running the hell away?”. Once we get a glimpse of Bigfoot and it’s clear that something is stalking the woods around the house, Brian is hopeful that he can catch it on camera and have his moment of fame and recognition. This doesn’t mean there aren’t a few moments where you’re thinking “dude ya couldn’t put the camera down for 5 minutes?”, but it does help to explain the urgency.

Ultimately what I liked about this movie is how much it’s almost more of a slasher flick than a mysterious monster movie. Bigfoot is out fuckin’ shit up in the daytime and crashing through the windows of the cabin. It chases Matt (played by Samuel Davis) — the brother trying to go for help on his bike — and it’s a pretty terrifying scene. It traps the remaining friends in a camper and then terrorizes them — shaking the outside, pushing them towards the edge, and jumping from a cliff down onto them (the scene pictured above — I actually said “SHIT!” out loud when it happened). It’s a freaking action star, and I liked that they didn’t shy away from showing it (and that the costume and makeup were awesome enough to hold up to broad daylight shots).

I don’t totally get why Brian was the only one who was spared, but I personally liked the reasoning for the attacks — again, not the most groundbreaking, but it added a sad air to the movie. Not the most unique horror movie, or even specifically monster movie, but definitely a thrill ride.

Rating: 5/10 | Director: Eduardo Sánchez | Writer: Jamie Nash | Music: Nima Fakhrara | Starring: Chris Osborn, Dora Madison, Roger Edwards, Denise Williamson, Samuel Davis, Brian Steele (as Bigfoot)